Departure from Vancouver—Wappatoo Island—The Willamette
River—Its Mouth—The Mountains—Falls—River above the
Falls—Arrival at the Lower Settlement—A Kentuckian—Mr. Johnson
and his Cabin—Thomas M’Kay and his Mill—Dr. Bailey and Wife
and Home—The Neighbouring Farmers—The Methodist Episcopal
Mission and Missionaries—Their Modes of Operations—The
Wisdom of their Course—Their Improvements, &c.—Return to
Vancouver—Mr. Young—Mr. Lee’s Misfortune—Descent of the
Willamette—Indians—Arrival at Vancouver—Oregon—Its Mountains,
Rivers and Soil, and Climate—Shipment for the Sandwich
Islands—Life at Vancouver—Descent of the Columbia—Astoria—On
the Pacific Sea—The Last View of Oregon—Account of Oregon, by
Lieut. Wilkes, Commander of the late exploring Expedition.
On the morning of the 21st, I left the Fort and dropped down the
Columbia, five miles, to Wappatoo Island. This large tract of low land
is bounded on the south-west, south and south-east, by the mouths of the
Willamette, and on the north by the Columbia. The side contiguous to the
latter river is about fifteen miles in length; the side bounded by the
eastern mouth of {201} the Willamette about seven miles, and that bounded
by the western mouth of the same river about twelve miles. It derives
its name from an edible root called _Wappatoo_, which it produces in
abundance.[2] It is generally low, and, in the central parts broken with
small ponds and marshes, in which the water rises and falls with the
river. Nearly the whole surface is overflown by the June freshets. It is
covered with a heavy growth of cotton-wood, elm, white-oak, black-ash,
alder, and a large species of laurel, and other shrubs. The Hudson Bay
Company, some years ago, placed a few hogs upon it, which have subsisted
entirely upon roots, acorns, &c. and increased to many hundreds.
I found the Willamette deep enough for ordinary steamboats, for the
distance of twenty miles from its western mouth. One mile below the
falls are rapids on which the water was too shallow to float our canoe.
The tide rises at this place about fourteen inches. The western shore
of the river, from the point where its mouths diverge to this place,
consists of lofty mountains rising immediately from the water-side, and
covered with pines. On the eastern side, beautiful swells and plains
extend from the {202} Columbia to within five or six miles of the
rapids. They are generally covered with pine, white-oak, black-ash, and
other kinds of timber. From the point last named to the rapids, wooded
mountains crowd down to the verge of the stream. Just below the rapids
a very considerable stream comes in from the east. It is said to rise
in a champaign country, which commences two or three miles from the
Willamette, and extends eastward twenty or thirty miles to the lower
hills of the President’s range. This stream breaks through the mountain
tumultuously, and enters the Willamette with so strong a current, as to
endanger boats attempting to pass it.[3] Here were a number of Indian
huts, the inmates of which were busied in taking and curing salmon.
Between the rapids and the falls, the country adjacent to the river is
similar to that just described; mountains clothed with impenetrable
forests.
The river, thus far, appeared to have an average width of four hundred
yards, water limpid. As we approached the falls, the eastern shore
presented a solid wall of basalt, thirty feet in perpendicular height.
On the top of this wall was nearly an acre of level area, on which the
Hudson Bay Company {203} have built a log-house.[4] This plain is three
or four feet below the level of the water above the falls, and protected
from the floods by the intervention of a deep chasm, which separates
it from the rocks over which the water pours. This is the best site in
the country for extensive flour and lumber-mills. The valley of the
Willamette is the only portion of Oregon from which grain can ever, to
any extent, become an article of export; and this splendid waterfall can
be approached at all seasons, from above and below, by sloops, schooners,
&c. The Hudson Bay Company, aware of its importance, have commenced a
race-way, and drawn timber on the ground, with the apparent intention of
erecting such works. On the opposite side is an acre or two of broken
ground, which might be similarly occupied.
The falls are formed by a line of dark rock, which stretches diagonally
across the stream. The river was low when I passed it, and all the water
was discharged at three jets. Two of these were near the eastern shore;
the other was near the western shore, and fell into the chasm which
divides the rocky plain before named, from the cliffs of the falls. At
the mouth of this chasm {204} my Indians unloaded their canoe, dragged it
up the crags, and having borne it on their shoulders eight or ten rods,
launched it upon a narrow neck of water by the shore; reloaded, and rowed
to the deep water above.
The scene, however, was too interesting to be left so soon, and I tarried
awhile to view it. The cataract roared loudly among the caverns, and
sent a thousand foaming eddies into the stream below. Countless numbers
of salmon were leaping and falling upon the fretted waters; savages
almost naked were around me, untrained by the soothing influences
of true knowledge, and the hopes of a purer world; as rude as the
rocks on which they trod; as bestial as the bear that growled in the
thicket. On either hand was the primeval wilderness, with its decaying
and perpetually-renewing energies; nothing could be more intensely
interesting. I had passed but a moment in these pleasant yet painful
reflections, when my Indians, becoming impatient, called me to pursue my
voyage.
A mile above the falls a large creek comes in from the west. It is said
to rise among the mountains near the Columbia, and to run south and
south-east and eastwardly through a series of fine prairies, interspersed
{205} with timber.[5] Above the falls, the mountains rise immediately
from the water’s edge, clothed with noble forests of pine, &c.; but at
the distance of fifteen miles above, their green ridges give place to
grassy and wooded swells on the west, and timbered and prairie plains on
the eastern side. This section of the river appeared navigable for any
craft that could float in the stream below the falls.
It was dark when I arrived at the level country; and emerging suddenly
in sight of a fire on the western bank, my Indians cried “Boston!
Boston!” and turned the canoe ashore to give me an opportunity of
speaking with a fellow countryman. He was sitting in the drizzling rain,
by a large log-fire—a stalwart six foot Kentucky trapper. After long
service in the American Fur Companies, among the rocky mountains, he
had come down to the Willamette, accompanied by an Indian woman and his
child, selected a place to build his home, made an “improvement,” sold
it, and was now commencing another. He entered my canoe and steered
across the river to a Mr. Johnson’s.[6] “I am sorry I can’t keep you,”
said he, “but I reckon you’ll sleep better under shingles, than this
stormy sky. Johnson {206} will be glad to see you. He’s got a good
shantee, and something for you to eat.”
We soon crossed the stream, and entered the cabin of Mr. Johnson. It
was a hewn log structure, about twenty feet square, with a mud chimney,
hearth and fire-place. The furniture consisted of one chair, a number
of wooden benches, a rude bedstead covered with flag mats, and several
sheet-iron kettles, earthen plates, knives and forks, tin pint cups, an
Indian wife, and a brace of brown boys. I passed the night pleasantly
with Mr. Johnson; and in the morning rose early to go to the Methodist
Episcopal Mission, twelve miles above. But the old hunter detained
me to breakfast; and afterwards insisted that I should view his
premises, while his boy should gather the horses to convey me on my
way. And a sight of fenced fields, many acres of wheat and oat-stubble,
potato-fields, and garden-vegetables of all descriptions, and a barn well
stored with the gathered harvest compensated me for the delay. Adjoining
Mr. Johnson’s farm were four others, on all of which there were from
fifty to a hundred acres under cultivation, and substantial log-houses
and barns.
One of these belonged to Thomas M’Kay, {207} son of M’Kay, who figured
with Mr. Astor in the doings of the Pacific Fur Company.[7]
After surveying these marks of civilization, I found a Dr. Bailey waiting
with his horses to convey me to his home. We accordingly mounted, bade
adieu to the old trapper of Hudson Bay and other parts of the frozen
north, and went to view M’Kay’s mill. A grist-mill in Oregon! We found
him working at his dam. Near by lay French burr stones, and some portions
of substantial and well-fashioned iron work. The frame of the mill-house
was raised and shingled; and an excellent structure it was. The whole
expense of the establishment, when completed, is expected to be £1,400 or
£1,600. M’Kay’s mother is a Cree or Chippeway Indian; and M’Kay himself
is a compound of the two races. The contour of his frame and features, is
Scotch; his manners and intellects strongly tinctured with the Indian. He
has been in the service of the Fur Companies all his life, save some six
or seven years past; and by his daring enterprise, and courage in battle
has rendered himself the terror of the Oregon Indians.
Leaving M’Kay’s mill, we travelled along a circuitous track through a
heavy forest of fir and pine, and emerged into a beautiful {208} little
prairie, at the side of which stood the doctor’s neat hewn log cabin,
sending its cheerful smoke among the lofty pine tops in its rear. We soon
sat by a blazing fire, and the storm that had pelted us all the way, lost
its unpleasantness in the delightful society of my worthy host and his
amiable wife. I passed the night with them. The doctor is a Scotchman,
his wife a Yankee. The former had seen many adventures in California and
Oregon and had his face very much slashed in a contest with the Shasty
Indians near the southern border of Oregon. The latter had come from the
States, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Mission, and had consented to
share the bliss and ills of life with the adventurous Gael; and a happy
little family they were.[8]
The next day Mrs. Bailey kindly undertook to make me a blanket coat by
the time I should return, and the worthy doctor and myself started for
the Mission. About a mile on our way, we called at a farm occupied by an
American, who acted as blacksmith and gunsmith for the settlement. He
appeared to have a good set of tools for his mechanical business, and
plenty of custom. He had also a considerable tract of land under fence,
and a comfortable house and {209} out-buildings. A mile or two farther
on, we came upon the cabin of a Yankee tinker:[9] an odd fellow, this;
glad to see a countryman, ready to serve him in any way, and to discuss
the matter of a canal across the isthmus of Darien, the northern lights,
English monopolies, Symmes’s Hole, Tom Paine, and wooden nutmegs. Farther
on, we came to the Catholic Chapel, a low wooden building, thirty-five or
forty feet in length; and the parsonage, a comfortable log cabin.[10]
Beyond these, scattered over five miles of country, were fifteen or
twenty farms, occupied by Americans and retired servants of the Hudson
Bay Company. Twelve or thirteen miles from the doctor’s we came in
sight of the Mission premises. They consisted of three log cabins, a
blacksmith’s shop, and outbuildings, on the east bank of the Willamette,
with large and well cultivated farms round about; and a farm, on
which were a large frame house, hospital, barn, &c., half a mile to
the eastward.[11] We alighted at the last-named establishment, and
were kindly received by Dr. White and his lady. This gentleman is the
physician of the Mission, and is thoroughly devoted to the amelioration
of the physical condition of the natives.[12]
{210} For this object, a large hospital was being erected near his
dwelling, for the reception of patients. I passed the night with the
doctor and his family, and the following day visited the other Mission
families. Every one appeared happy in his benevolent work.—Mr. Daniel
Leslie, in preaching and superintending general matters;[13] Mr. Cyrus
Shepard, in teaching letters to about thirty half-breed and Indian
children; Mr. J. C. Whitecomb, in teaching them to cultivate the earth;
and Mr. Alanson Beers, in blacksmithing for the mission and the Indians,
and instructing a few young men in his art.[14] I spent four or five days
with these people, and had a fine opportunity to learn their characters,
the objects they had in view, and the means they took to accomplish
them. They belong to that zealous class of Protestants called Methodist
Episcopalians. Their religious feelings are warm, and accompanied with
a strong faith and great activity. In energy and fervent zeal, they
reminded me of the Plymouth pilgrims, so true in heart, and so deeply
interested were they with the principles and emotions which they are
endeavouring to inculcate upon those around them. Their hospitality and
friendship were {211} of the purest and most disinterested character. I
shall have reason to remember long and gratefully the kind and generous
manner in which they supplied my wants.
Their object in settling in Oregon I understood to be twofold; the one
and principal, to civilize and christianize the Indians; the other,
and not less important, the establishment of religious and literary
institutions for the benefit of white emigrants. Their plan of operation
on the Indians, is to learn their various languages, for the purposes
of itinerant preaching, and of teaching the young the English language.
The scholars are also instructed in agriculture, the regulations of a
well-managed household, reading, writing, arithmetic and geography.
The principles and duties of the Christian religion form a very
considerable part of the system. They have succeeded very satisfactorily
in the several parts of their undertaking. The preachers of the Mission
have traversed the wilderness, and by their untiring devotion to their
work, wrought many changes in the moral condition of these proverbially
debased savages; while with their schools they have afforded {212} them
ample means for intellectual improvement.
They have many hundred acres of land under the plough, and cultivated
chiefly by the native pupils. They have more than a hundred head of
horned cattle, thirty or forty horses, and many swine. They have
granaries filled with wheat, oats, barley, and peas, and cellars well
stored with vegetables.
A site had already been selected on the opposite side of the river for
an academical building; a court of justice had been organised by the
popular voice; a military corps was about to be formed for the protection
of settlers, and other measures were in progress, at once showing that
the American, with his characteristic energy and enterprize, and the
philanthropist, with his holy aspirations for the improvement of the
human condition, had crossed the snowy barrier of the mountain, to mingle
with the dashing waves of the Pacific seas the sweet music of a busy and
virtuous civilization.
During my stay here, several American citizens, unconnected with the
Mission, called on me to talk of their fatherland, and inquire as to
the probability that its {213} laws would be extended over them. The
constantly repeated inquiries were—
“Why are we left without protection in this part of our country’s domain?
Why are foreigners permitted to domineer over American citizens, drive
their traders from the country, and make us as dependent on them for the
clothes we wear, as are their own apprenticed slaves?”
I could return no answer to these questions, exculpatory of this national
delinquency, and therefore advised them to embody their grievances
in a petition, and forward it to Congress. They had a meeting for
that purpose, and afterwards put into my hand a petition, signed by
sixty-seven citizens of the United States, and persons desirous of
becoming such, the substance of which was, a description of the country,
their unprotected situation, and, in conclusion, a prayer that the
Federal Government would extend over them the protection and institutions
of the Republic. Five or six of the Willamette settlers, for some reason,
had not an opportunity to sign this paper. The Catholic priest refused to
do it.[15]
These people have put fifty or sixty fine {214} farms under cultivation
in the Willamette valley, amidst the most discouraging circumstances.
They have erected for themselves comfortable dwellings and outbuildings,
and have herds of excellent cattle, which they have from time to time
driven up from California, at great expense of property and even life.
The reader will find it difficult to learn any sufficient reasons for
their being left by the Government without the institutions of civilised
society. Their condition is truly deplorable. They are liable to be
arrested for debt or crime, and conveyed to the jails of Canada![16]
For, in that case, the business of British subjects is interfered with,
who, by way of retaliation, will withhold the supplies of clothing,
household goods, &c., which the settlers have no other means of
obtaining. Nor is this all. The civil condition of the territory being
such as virtually to prohibit the emigration to any extent of useful and
desirable citizens, they have nothing to anticipate from any considerable
increase of their numbers, nor any amelioration of their state to look
for, from the accession of female society.
{215} In the desperation incident to their lonely lot, they take wives
from the Indian tribes around them. What will be the ultimate consequence
of this unpardonable negligence on the part of the Government upon
the future destinies of Oregon cannot be clearly predicted; but it is
manifest that it must be disastrous in the highest degree, both as to its
claims to the sovereignty of that territory, and the moral condition of
its inhabitants.
Mr. W. H. Wilson, superintendent of a branch mission on Puget’s Sound,
chanced to be at the Willamette station, whose polite attentions it
affords me pleasure to acknowledge.[17] He accompanied me on many
excursions in the valley, and to the heights, for the purpose of showing
me the country. I was also indebted to him for much information relative
to the Cowelitz and its valley, and the region about the sound, which
will be found on a succeeding page.
My original intention had been to pass the winter in exploring Oregon,
and to have returned to the States the following summer, with the
American Fur traders. But having learned from various credible sources,
that {216} little dependence could be placed upon meeting them at
their usual place of rendezvous on Green river, and that the prospect
of getting back to the States by that route would, consequently, be
exceedingly doubtful, I felt constrained to abandon the attempt. My next
wish was to have gone by land to California, and thence home through the
northern States of Mexico. In order, however, to accomplish this with
safety, a force of twenty-five men was indispensable; and as that number
could not be raised, I was compelled to give up all hopes of returning by
that route.
The last and only practicable means then of seeking home during the
next twelve months, was to go to the Sandwich Islands, and ship thence
for New York or California, as opportunity might offer. One of the
company’s vessels was then lying at Vancouver, receiving a cargo of
lumber for the Island market, and I determined to take passage in her.
Under these circumstances, it behooved me to hasten my return to the
Columbia. Accordingly, on the 20th I left the mission, visited Dr. Bailey
and lady, and went to Mr. Johnson’s to take a canoe down the river. On
reaching this {217} place, I found Mr. Lee, who had been to the Mission
establishment on the Willamette for the fall supplies of wheat, pork,
lard, butter, &c., for his station of the “Dalles.”
He had left the Mission two days before my departure, and giving his
canoe, laden with these valuables, in charge of his Indians, proceeded to
the highlands by land. He had arrived at Mr. Johnson’s, when a message
reached him to the effect that his canoe had been upset, and its entire
contents discharged into the stream. He immediately repaired to the
scene of this disaster, where I found him busied in attempting to save
some part of his cargo. All the wheat, and a part of the other supplies,
together with his gun and other paraphernalia, were lost. I made
arrangements to go down with him when he should be ready, and left him to
call upon a Captain Young, an American ex-trader, who was settled near.
This gentleman had formerly explored California and Oregon in quest of
beaver—had been plundered by the Mexican authorities of £4,000 worth of
fur; and, wearied at last with his ill-luck, settled nine or ten years
ago on a small tributary of the Willamette coming in from the west.[18]
{218} Here he has erected a saw and grist mill, and opened a farm. He has
been many times to California for cattle, and now owns about one hundred
head, a fine band of horses, swine, &c. He related to me many incidents
of his hardships, among which the most surprising was, that for a number
of years, the Hudson Bay Company refused to sell him a shred of clothing;
and as there were no other traders in the country, he was compelled
during their pleasure to wear skins.[19] A false report that he had been
guilty of some dishonourable act in California was the alleged cause for
this treatment; but perhaps, a better reason would be, that Mr. Young
occasionally purchased beaver skins in the American territory.
I spent the night of the 12th with the excellent old captain, and in
the afternoon of the 13th, in company with my friend Mr. Lee, descended
the Willamette as far as the Falls. Here we passed the night, more to
the apparent satisfaction of vermin than of ourselves. These creature
comforts abound in Oregon. But it was not these alone that made our
lodging at the {219} Falls a rosy circumstance for memory’s wastes. The
mellifluent odour of salmon offal regaling our nasal sensibilities, and
the squalling of a copper-coloured baby, uttered in all the sweetest
intonations of such an instrument, falling with the liveliest notes upon
the ear, made me dream of war to the knife, till the sun called us to our
day’s travel.
Five miles below the Falls, Mr. Lee and myself left the canoe, and struck
across about fourteen miles to an Indian village on the bank of the
Columbia opposite Vancouver. It was a collection of mud and straw huts,
surrounded and filled with filth which might be smelt two hundred yards.
We hired one of these cits to take us across the river, and at sunset of
the 15th, were comfortably seated by the stove in “Bachelor’s Hall” of
Fort Vancouver.
The rainy season had now thoroughly set in. Travelling any considerable
distance in open boats, or among the tangled underbrush on foot, or on
horseback, was quite impracticable. I therefore determined to avail
myself of whatever other means of information were in my reach; and
as the gentlemen in charge of the various trading-posts {220} in the
territory, had arrived at Vancouver to meet the express from London, I
could not have had for this object a more favourable opportunity. The
information obtained from these gentlemen, and from other residents in
the country, I have relied on as correct, and combined it with my own
observations in the following general account of Oregon.
Oregon Territory is bounded on the north by the parallel of 54 deg. 40
min. north latitude;[20] on the east by the Rocky Mountains; on the south
by the parallel of 42 deg. north latitude; and on the west by the Pacific
Ocean.
Mountains of Oregon. Different sections of the great chain of highlands
which stretch from the straits of Magellan to the Arctic sea, have
received different names—as the Andes, the Cordilleras, the Anahuac,
the Rocky and the Chippewayan Mountains. The last mentioned appellation
has been applied to that portion of it which lies between 58° of north
latitude and the Arctic sea. The Hudson Bay Company, in completing the
survey of the Arctic coast, have ascertained that these mountains
preserve a strongly defined outline entirely to the sea, and hang in
towering cliffs over it, {221} and by other surveys have discovered that
they gradually increase in height from the sea southward.
The section to which the term Rocky Mountains has been applied, extends
from latitude 58° to the Great Gap, or southern pass, in latitude 42°
north. Their altitude is greater than that of any other range on the
northern part of the continent. Mr. Thompson, the astronomer of the
Hudson Bay Company, reports that he found peaks between latitudes 53
and 56 north, more than twenty-six thousand feet above the level of the
sea.[21] That portion lying east of Oregon, and dividing it from the
Great Prairie Wilderness, will be particularly noticed. Its southern
point is in the Wind River cluster, latitude 42° north, and about seven
hundred miles from the Pacific Ocean. Its northern point is in latitude
54° 40′, about seventy miles north of Mount Browne,[22] and about four
hundred miles from the same sea. Its general direction between these
points is from N. N. W. to S. S. E.
This range is generally covered with perpetual snows; and for this
and other causes is generally impassable for man or beast. There are,
however, several gaps through {222} which the Indians and others cross
to the Great Prairie Wilderness. The northernmost is between the peaks
Browne and Hooker. This is used by the fur traders in their journeys
from the Columbia to Canada.[23] Another lies between the head waters of
the Flathead and the Marias rivers. Another runs from Lewis and Clarke’s
river to the southern head waters of the Missouri. Another lies up
Henry’s fork for the Saptin, in a northeasterly course to the Big-horn
branch of the Yellowstone. And still another, and most important of all,
is situated between Wind river cluster and Long’s mountains.[24]
There are several spurs or lateral branches protruding from the main
chain, which are worthy of notice. The northernmost of these parts off
north of Fraser’s river, and embraces the sources of that stream. It is
a broad collection of heights, thinly covered with pines. Some of the
tops are covered with snow nine months of the year. A spur from these
passes far down between Fraser’s and Columbia rivers. This is a line of
rather low elevations, thickly clothed with pines, cedar, &c. The highest
portions of them lie near the Columbia. Another spur {223} puts out on
the south of Mount Hooker, and lies in the bend of the Columbia, above
the two lakes.
These are lofty and bare of vegetation. Another lies between the Flatbow
and Flathead rivers; another between the Flathead and Spokan rivers;
another between the Kooskooskie and Wapicakoos rivers.[25] These spurs,
which lie between the head waters of the Columbia and the last mentioned
river have usually been considered in connexion with a range running off
S. W. from the lower part of the Saptin, and called the Blue Mountains.
But there are two sufficient reasons why this is an error. The first is,
that these spurs are separate and distinct from each other, and are all
manifestly merely spurs of the Rocky Mountains, and closely connected
with them.
And the second is, that no one of them is united in any one point with
the Blue Mountains. They cannot therefore be considered a part of the
Blue Mountain chain, and should not be known by the same name. The
mountains which lie between the Wapicakoos river and the upper waters
of the Saptin, will be described by saying that they are a vast cluster
of dark naked heights, descending from the average elevation of fifteen
thousand feet—the altitude of the {224} great western ridge—to about
eight thousand feet—the elevation of the eastern wall of the valley of
the Saptin. The only qualifying fact that should be attached to this
description is, that there are a few small hollows among these mountains,
called “holes;” which in general appearance resemble Brown’s hole,
mentioned in a previous chapter; but unlike the latter, they are too cold
to allow of cultivation.
The last spur that deserves notice in this place is that which is called
the “Snowy Mountains.” It has already been described in this work; and it
can only be necessary here to repeat that it branches off from the Wind
river peak in latitude 41° north, and runs in an irregular broken line
to Cape Mendocino, in Upper California.
The Blue Mountains are a range of heights which commence at the Saptin,
about twenty miles above its junction with the Columbia, near the 46°
of north latitude, and run south-westerly about two hundred miles, and
terminate in a barren, rolling plain. They are separated from the Rocky
Mountains by the valley of the Saptin, and are unconnected with any other
range. Some of their loftiest peaks are more than ten thousand feet above
the level of the sea. Many beautiful valleys, many hills covered {225}
with bunch grass, and very many extensive swells covered with heavy
yellow pine forests, are found among them.
The President’s range is in every respect the most interesting in Oregon.
It is a part of a chain of highlands, which commences at Mount St. Elias,
and gently diverging from the coast, terminates in the arid hills about
the head of the Gulf of California. It is a line of extinct volcanoes,
where the fires, the evidences of whose intense power are seen over the
whole surface of Oregon, found their principal vents. It has twelve lofty
peaks; two of which, Mount St. Elias and Mount Fairweather, lie near
latitude 55° north;[26] and ten of which lie south of latitude 49° north.
Five of these latter have received names from British navigators and
traders.
The other five have received from American travellers, and Mr. Kelly,
the names of deceased Presidents of the Republic. Mr. Kelly, I believe,
was the first individual who suggested a name for the whole range. For
convenience in description I have adopted it.[27] And although it is a
matter in which no one can find reasons for being very much interested,
yet if there is any propriety in adopting Mr. Kelly’s name for the whole
{226} chain, there might seem to be as much in following his suggestion,
that all the principal peaks should bear the names of those distinguished
men, whom the suffrages of the people that own Oregon[28] have from time
to time called to administer their national government. I have adopted
this course.
Mount Tyler is situated near latitude forty-nine degrees north, and about
twenty miles from the eastern shore of those waters between Vancouver’s
Island, and the continent. It is clad with perpetual snow.[29] Mount
Harrison is situated a little more than a degree south of Mount Tyler,
and about thirty miles east by north of Puget’s Sound. It is covered
with perpetual snow.[30] Mount Van Buren stands on the isthmus between
Puget’s Sound and the Pacific. It is a lofty, wintry peak, seen in clear
weather eighty miles at sea.[31] Mount Adams lies under the parallel of
forty-five degrees, about twenty-five miles north of the cascades of
the Columbia. This is one of the finest peaks of the chain, clad with
eternal snows, five thousand feet down its sides. Mount Washington lies
a little north of the forty-fourth degree north, and about twenty miles
{227} south of the Cascades.[32] It is a perfect cone, and is said to
rise seventeen thousand or eighteen thousand feet above the level of the
sea. More than half its height is covered with perpetual snows. Mount
Jefferson is an immense peak under latitude forty-one and a half degrees
north. It received its name from Lewis and Clark.[33] Mount Madison is
the Mount McLaughlin of the British fur-traders. Mount Monroe is in
latitude forty-three degrees twenty minutes north, and Mount John Quincy
Adams is in forty-two degrees ten minutes; both covered with perpetual
snow.[34]
Mount Jackson is in latitude forty-one degrees ten minutes. It is the
largest and highest pinnacle of the President’s range.[35] This chain of
mountains runs parallel with the Rocky Mountains, between three hundred
and four hundred miles from them. Its average distance from the coast of
the Pacific, south of latitude forty-nine degrees, is about one hundred
miles. The spaces between the peaks are occupied by elevated heights,
covered with an enormous growth of the several species of pines, and
firs, and the red cedar, many of which rise two hundred feet without
a limb; and are five, six, seven, eight, and even nine fathoms in
circumference at the ground.
{228} On the south side of the Columbia, at the Cascades, a range of low
mountains puts off from the President’s range, and running down parallel
to the river, terminates in a point of land on which Astoria was built.
Its average height is about one thousand five hundred feet above the
river. Near the Cascades the tops are higher; and in some instances are
beautifully castellated. They are generally covered with dense pine and
fir forests. From the north side of the Cascades, a similar range runs
down to the sea, and terminates in Cape Disappointment.[36] This range
also is covered with forests. Another range runs on the brink of the
coast, from Cape Mendocino in Upper California to the Straits de Fuca.
This is generally bare of trees; mere masses of dark stratified rocks,
piled many hundred feet in height. It rises immediately from the borders
of the sea, and preserves nearly a right line course, during their entire
length. The lower portion of the eastern sides is clothed with heavy pine
and spruce, fir and cedar forests.
I have described in previous pages the great southern branch of the
Columbia, called Saptin by the natives who live on its banks, and the
valley of volcanic deserts, through which it runs, as well as the
Columbia {229} and its cavernous vale, from its junction with the Saptin
to Fort Vancouver, ninety miles from the sea. I shall therefore in the
following notice of the rivers of Oregon, speak only of those parts
of this and other streams, and their valleys about them, which remain
undescribed.
That portion of the Columbia, which lies above its junction with the
Saptin, latitude forty-six degrees eight minutes north, is navigable for
bateaux to the boat encampment at the base of the Rocky Mountains, about
the fifty-third degree of north latitude, a distance, by the course of
the stream, of about five hundred miles.[37] The current is strong, and
interrupted by five considerable and several lesser rapids, at which
there are short portages. The country on both sides of the river, from
its junction with the Saptin to the mouth of the Spokan, is a dreary
waste. The soil is a light yellowish composition of sand and clay,
generally destitute of vegetation. In a few nooks, irrigated by mountain
streams, are found small patches of the short grass of the plains
interspersed with another species which grows in tufts or bunches four
or five feet in height. A few shrubs (as the small willow, the sumac,
and furze), appear in distant and solitary {230} groups. There are no
trees; generally nothing green; a mere brown drifting desert; as far as
the Oakanagan River, two hundred and eight miles, a plain, the monotonous
desolation of which is relieved only by the noble river running through
it, and an occasional cliff of volcanic rocks bursting through its arid
surface.
The river Oakanagan is a large, fine stream, originating in a large lake
of the same name situate in the mountains, about one hundred miles north
of its mouth. The soil in the neighbourhood of this stream is generally
worthless. Near its union, however, with the Columbia, there are a number
of small plains tolerably well clothed with the wild grasses; and near
its lake are found hills covered with small timber. On the point of land
between this stream and the Columbia, the Pacific Fur Company in 1811
established a trading post. This in 1814 passed by purchase into the
hands of the North-West Fur Company of Canada, and in 1819 by the union
of that body with the Hudson Bay Company, passed into the possession of
the united company under the name of Hudson Bay Company. It is still
occupied by them under its old name of Fort Oakanagan.[38]
{231} From this post, latitude forty-eight degrees six minutes, and
longitude one hundred and seventeen degrees west, along the Columbia to
the Spokan, the country is as devoid of wood as that below. The banks
of the river are bold and rocky, the stream is contracted with narrow
limits, and the current strong and vexed with dangerous eddies.
The Spokan river rises among the spurs of the Rocky Mountains east
south-east of the mouth of the Oakanagan, and, after a course of about
fifty miles, forms the Pointed Heart Lake, twenty-five miles in length,
and ten or twelve in width; and running thence in a north-westerly
direction about one hundred and twenty miles, empties itself into the
Columbia. About sixty miles from its mouth, the Pacific Fur Company
erected a trading-post, which they called the “Spokan House.” Their
successors are understood to have abandoned it.[39] Above the Pointed
Heart Lake, the banks of this river are usually high and bold mountains,
sparsely covered with pines and cedars of a fine size. Around the lake
are some grass lands, many edible roots, and wild fruits. On all the
remaining course of the stream, are found at intervals {232} productive
spots capable of yielding moderate crops of the grains and vegetables.
There is considerable pine and cedar timber on the neighbouring hills;
and near the Columbia are large forests growing on sandy plains. In a
word, the Spokan valley can be extensively used as a grazing district;
but its agricultural capabilities are limited.
Mr. Spaulding, an American missionary, made a journey across this valley
to Fort Colville,[40] in March 1837, in relation to which, he thus writes
to Mr. Levi Chamberlain of the Sandwich Islands: “The third day from home
we came to snow, and on the fourth, came to what I call quicksands,
plains mixed with pine trees and rocks. The body of snow upon the plains
was interspersed with bare spots under the standing pines. For these, our
poor animals would plunge whenever they came near, after wallowing in
the snow and mud until the last nerve seemed almost exhausted, naturally
expecting a resting-place for their struggling limbs; but they were no
less disappointed and discouraged, doubtless, than I was astonished, to
see the noble animals go down by the side of a rock or pine tree, till
their bodies struck the surface.”
{233} The same gentleman, in speaking of this valley, and the country
generally, lying north of the Columbia, and claimed by the United States
and Great Britain, says, “It is probably not worth half the money and
time that will be spent in talking about it.”
The country, from the Spokan to Kettle Falls, is broken into hills and
mountains thinly covered with wood, and picturesque in appearance, among
which there is supposed to be no arable land. A little below Kettle
Falls,[41] in latitude 48°, 37′ is a trading post of the Hudson’s Bay
Company, called Fort Colville. Mr. Spaulding thus describes it:—“Fort
Colville is two hundred miles west of north from this, (his station on
the Clear Water), three days below Flatland River, one day above Spokan,
one hundred miles above Oakanagan, and three hundred miles above Fort
Wallawalla. It stands on a small plain of two thousand or three thousand
acres, said to be the only arable land on the Columbia, above Vancouver.
There are one or two barns, a blacksmith shop, a good flour mill, several
houses for labourers, and good buildings for the gentlemen in charge.”
Mr. McDonald[42] raises this year (1837) {234} about three thousand five
hundred bushels of different grains, such as wheat, peas, barley, oats,
corn, buckwheat, &c., and as many potatoes; has eighty head of cattle,
and one hundred hogs. This post furnishes supplies of provisions for a
great many forts north, south and west. The country on both sides of
the stream, from Kettle Falls to within four miles of the lower Lake,
is covered with dense forests of pine, spruce, and small birch. The
northwestern shore is rather low, but the southern high and rocky. In
this distance are several tracts of rich bottom land, covered with a kind
of creeping red clover, and the white species common to the States. The
lower lake of the Columbia is about thirty-five miles in length, and four
or five in breadth. Its shores are bold, and clad with a heavy growth of
pine, spruce, &c.[43] From these waters the voyager obtains the first
view of the snowy heights in the main chain of the Rocky Mountains.
The Flathead River enters into the Columbia a short distance above Fort
Colville. It is as long, and discharges nearly as much water as that
part of Columbia above their junction. It rises near the {235} sources
of the Missouri and Sascatchawine.[44] The ridges which separate them
are said to be easy to pass. It falls into the Columbia over a confused
heap of immense rocks, just above the place where the latter stream
forms the Kettle Falls, in its passage through a spur of the Rocky
Mountains. About one hundred miles from its mouth, the Flathead River
forms a lake thirty-six miles long and seven or eight wide. It is called
Lake Kullerspelm. A rich and beautiful country spreads off from it in
all directions, to the bases of lofty mountains covered with perpetual
snows. Forty or fifty miles above this lake, is the “Flathead House,” a
trading post of the Hudson Bay Company.[45]
McGillivray’s, or Flat Bow River, rises in the Rocky Mountains, and
running a tortuous westerly course about three hundred miles, among the
snowy heights, and some extensive and somewhat productive valleys, enters
the Columbia four miles below the Lower Lake. Its banks are generally
mountainous, and in some places covered with pine forests. On this stream
also, the indefatigable British fur traders have a post, “Fort Kootania,”
situated {236} about one hundred and thirty miles from its mouth.[46]
Between the lower and upper lakes of the Columbia, are “the Straits,”
a narrow, compressed passage of the river among jutting rocks. It is
four or five miles in length, and has a current, swift, whirling, and
difficult to stem. The upper lake is of less dimensions than the lower;
but, if possible, surrounded by more broken and romantic scenery, forests
overhung by lofty tiers of wintry mountains, from which rush a thousand
torrents, fed by the melting snows.[47]
Two miles above this lake, the Columbia runs through a narrow, rocky
channel. This place is called the Lower Dalles. The shores are strewn
with immense quantities of fallen timber, among which still stand heavy
and impenetrable forests. Thirty-five miles above is the Upper Dalles;
the waters are crowded into a compressed channel, among hanging and
slippery rocks, foaming and whirling fearfully.[48] A few miles above
this place, is the head of navigation, “The Boat encampment,” where the
traders leave their bateaux, in their overland journeys to Canada.[49]
The country from the upper lake to this place, is a collection {237} of
mountains, thickly covered with pine, and spruce, and fir trees of very
large size.
Here commences the “Rocky Mountain portage,” to the navigable waters
on the other side. Its track runs up a wide and cheerless valley, on
the north of which, tiers of mountains rise to a great height, thickly
studded with immense pines and cedars, while on the south are seen
towering cliffs, partially covered with mosses and stinted pines, over
which tumble, from the ices above, numerous and noisy cascades. Two days’
travel up the desolate valley, brings the traveller to “La Grande Cote,”
the principal ridge. This you climb in two hours. Around the base of this
ridge, the trees, pines, &c., are of enormous size; but in ascending,[50]
they decrease in size, till on the summit they become little else than
shrubs.
On a table land of this height, are found two lakes a few hundred yards
apart; the waters of one of which flow down the valley just described, to
the Columbia, and thence to the North Pacific; while those of the other,
forming the Rocky Mountain River, run thence into the Athabasca, and
thence through Peace River, the Great Slave Lake, {238} and McKenzie’s
River, into the Northern Arctic Ocean. The scenery around these lakes
is highly interesting.[51] In the north, rises Mount Browne, sixteen
thousand feet, and in the south, Mount Hooker, fifteen thousand seven
hundred feet above the level of the sea. In the west, descends a vast
tract of secondary mountains, bare and rocky, and noisy with tumbling
avalanches. In the vales are groves of the winter-loving pine. In the
east roll away undulations of barren heights beyond the range of sight.
It seems to be the very citadel of desolation; where the god of the north
wind elaborates his icy streams, and frosts, and blasts, in every season
of the year.
Frazer’s River rises between latitudes 55° and 56° north, and after a
course of about one hundred and fifty miles, nearly due south, falls
into the Straits de Fuca, under latitude 49° north. It is so much
obstructed by rapids and falls, as to be of little value for purposes of
navigation.[52] The face of the country about its mouth, and for fifty
miles above, is mountainous and covered with dense forests of white pine,
cedar, and other evergreen trees. The soil is an indifferent vegetable
deposit six or seven inches in depth, resting on a stratum of sand or
{239} coarse gravel. The whole remaining portion of the valley is said to
be cut with low mountains running north-westwardly and south-eastwardly;
among which are immense tracts of marshes and lakes, formed by cold
torrents from the heights that encircle them. The soil not thus occupied,
is too poor for successful cultivation. Mr. Macgillivray, the person in
charge at Fort Alexandria, in 1827, says:[53] “All the vegetables we
planted, notwithstanding the utmost care and precaution, nearly failed;
and the last crop of potatoes did not yield one-fourth of the seed
planted.” The timber of this region consists of all the varieties of the
fir, the spruce, pine, poplar, willow, cedar, cyprus, birch and alder.
The climate is very peculiar. The spring opens about the middle of April.
From this time the weather is delightful till the end of May. In June
the south wind blows, and brings incessant rains. In July and August the
heat is almost insupportable. In September the whole valley is enveloped
in fogs so dense, that objects one hundred yards distant cannot be seen
till ten o’clock in the day. In October the leaves change their colour
and begin to fall. In November, the lakes, and portions of the rivers are
{240} frozen. The winter months bring snow. It is seldom severely cold.
The mercury in Fahrenheit’s scale sinks a few days only, as low as ten or
twelve degrees below zero.
That part of Oregon bounded on the north by Shmillamen River,[54] and
on the east by Oakanagan and Columbia Rivers, south by the Columbia,
and west by the President’s Range, is a broken plain, partially covered
with the short and bunch grasses; but so destitute of water, that a
small portion only of it, can ever be depastured. The eastern and
middle portions of it are destitute of timber—a mere sunburnt waste.
The northern part has a few wooded hills and streams, and prairie
valleys. Among the lower hills of the President’s Range, too, there are
considerable pine and fir forests; and rather extensive prairies, watered
by small mountain streams; but nearly all of the whole surface of this
part of Oregon, is a worthless desert.
The tract bounded north by the Columbia, east by the Blue Mountains,
south by the forty-second parallel of north latitude, and west by the
President’s Range, is a plain of vast rolls or swells, of a light,
yellowish, sandy clay, partially covered with the short and bunch
grasses, mixed with the prickly {241} pear and wild wormwood. But water
is so very scarce, that it can never be generally fed; unless, indeed,
as some travellers, in their praises of this region, seem to suppose,
the animals that usually live by eating and drinking, should be able
to dispense with the latter, in a climate where nine months in the
year, not a particle of rain or dew falls, to moisten a soil as dry
and loose as a heap of ashes. On the banks of the Luhon, John Days,
Umatalla, and Wallawalla Rivers[55]—which have an average length of
thirty miles—without doubt, extensive tracts of grass may be found in the
neighbourhood of water; but it is also true that not more than a fifth
part of the surface within twenty-five miles of these streams, bears
grass or any other vegetation.
The portion also which borders the Columbia, produces some grass. But of
a strip six miles in width, and extending from the Dalles to the mouth of
the Saptin, not an hundredth part bears the grasses; and the sides of the
chasm of the river are so precipitous, that not a fiftieth part of this
can be fed by animals which drink at that stream. In proceeding southward
on the head waters of the small streams, John Days and Umatalla, the face
of the plain rises gradually {242} into vast irregular swells, destitute
of timber and water. On the Blue Mountains are a few pine and spruce
trees of an inferior growth. On the right tower the white peaks and
thickly wooded hills of the President’s Range.
The space south-east of the Blue Mountains is a barren, thirsty waste,
of light, sandy, and clayey soil—strongly impregnated with nitre. A
few small streams run among the sand hills; but they are so strongly
impregnated with various kinds of salts, as to be unfit for use. These
brooks empty themselves into the lakes, the waters of which are salter
than the ocean. Near latitude 43° north, the Klamet River rises and runs
westerly, through the President’s Range.[56] On these waters are a few
productive valleys; westwardly from them to the Saptin the country is
dry and worthless.
The part of Oregon lying between the Straits de Fuca on the north,
the President’s Range on the east, the Columbia on the south, and the
ocean on the west, is thickly covered with pines, cedars, and firs of
extraordinary size; and beneath these, a growth of brush and brambles
which defies the most vigorous foot to penetrate. Along the banks of the
Columbia, indeed, strips {243} of prairie may be met with, varying from a
few rods to three miles in width, and often several miles in length; and
even amidst the forests are found a few open spaces.
The banks of the Cowelitz, too, are denuded of timber for forty miles;
and around the Straits de Fuca and Puget’s Sound, are large tracts of
open country.[57] But the whole tract lying within the boundaries just
defined, is of little value except for its timber. The forests are so
heavy and so matted with brambles, as to require the arm of a Hercules
to clear a farm of one hundred acres in an ordinary life-time; and the
mass of timber is so great that an attempt to subdue it by girdling would
result in the production of another forest before the ground could be
disencumbered of what was thus killed. The small prairies among the woods
are covered with wild grasses, and are useful as pastures.
The soil of these, like that of the timbered portions, is a vegetable
mould, eight or ten inches in thickness, resting on a stratum of hard
blue clay and gravel. The valley of the Cowelitz is poor—the soil, thin,
loose, and much washed, can be used as pasture grounds for thirty miles
up the stream. At about that distance some tracts {244} of fine land
occur. The prairies on the banks of the Columbia would be valuable land
for agricultural purposes, if they were not generally overflown by the
freshets in June—the month of all the year when crops are most injured by
such an occurrence. It is impossible to dyke out the water; for the soil
rests upon an immense bed of gravel and quicksand, through which it will
leach in spite of such obstructions.
The tract of the territory lying between the Columbia on the north, the
President’s range on the east, the parallel of forty-two degrees of north
latitude on the south, and the ocean on the west, is the most beautiful
and valuable portion of the Oregon Territory. A good idea of the form
of its surface may be derived from a view of its mountains and rivers
as laid down on the map. On the south tower the heights of the snowy
mountains; on the west the naked peaks of the coast range; on the north
the green peaks of the river range; and on the east the lofty shining
cones of the President’s range—around whose frozen bases cluster a vast
collection of minor mountains, clad with the mightiest pine and cedar
forests on the face of the earth! The principal rivers are the Klamet and
the Umpqua in the south-west, and the Willamette in the north.
{245} The Umpqua enters these in a latitude forty-three degrees, thirty
minutes north.[58] It is three-fourths of a mile in width at its mouth;
water two-and-a-half fathoms on its bar; the tide sets up thirty miles
from the sea; its banks are steep and covered with pines and cedars,
&c. Above tide water the stream is broken by rapids and falls. It has a
westwardly course of about one hundred miles. The face of the country
about it is somewhat broken; in some parts covered with heavy pine and
cedar timber, in others with grass only; said to be a fine valley for
cultivation and pasturage. The pines on this river grow to an enormous
size: two hundred and fifty feet in height—and from fifteen to more than
fifty feet in circumference;[59] the cones or seed vessels are in the
form of an egg, and oftentimes more than a foot in length; the seeds are
as large as the castor bean. Farther south is another stream, which joins
the ocean twenty-three miles from the outlet of the Umpqua. At its mouth
are many bays; and the surrounding country is less broken than the valley
of the Umpqua.[60]
{246} Farther south still, is another stream called the Klamet. It rises,
as is said, in the plain east of Mount Madison, and running a westerly
course of one hundred and fifty miles, enters the ocean forty or fifty
miles south of the Umpqua. The pine and cedar disappear upon this stream;
and instead of them are found a myrtaceous tree of small size, which,
when shaken by the least breeze, diffuses a delicious fragrance through
the groves. The face of the valley is gently undulating, and in every
respect desirable for cultivation and grazing.
The Willamette rises in the President’s range, near the sources of the
Klamet. Its general course is north northwest. Its length is something
more than two hundred miles. It falls into the Columbia by two mouths;
the one eighty-five, and the other seventy miles from the sea. The arable
portion of the valley of this river is about one hundred and fifty miles
long, by sixty in width. It is bounded on the west by low wooded hills of
the coast range; on the south by the highlands around the upper waters
of the Umpqua; on the east by the President’s range; and on the north
by the mountains that run along the southern bank of the Columbia. Its
general appearance as seen from the heights, is that of a {247} rolling,
open plain, intersected in every direction by ridges of low mountains,
and long lines of evergreen timber; and dotted here and there with a
grove of white oaks. The soil is a rich vegetable mould, two or three
feet deep, resting on a stratum of coarse gravel or clay. The prairie
portions of it are capable of producing, with good cultivation, from
twenty to thirty bushels of wheat to the acre, and other small grains
in proportion. Corn cannot be raised without irrigation. The vegetables
common to such latitudes yield abundantly, and of the best quality. The
uplands have an inferior soil, and are covered with such an enormous
growth of pines, cedars and firs, that the expense of clearing would be
greatly beyond their value. Those tracts of the second bottom lands,
which are covered with timber might be worth subduing, but for a species
of fern growing on them, which is so difficult to kill, as to render them
nearly worthless for agricultural purposes.
The climate of the country between the President’s range and the sea, is
very temperate. From the middle of April to the middle of October, the
westerly winds prevail, and the weather is warm and dry. Scarcely a drop
of rain falls. During the remainder of the year, the southerly winds
{248} blow continually, and bring rains; sometimes in showers, and at
others terrible storms, which continue to pour down incessantly for many
weeks.
There is scarcely any freezing weather in this section of Oregon. Twice
within the last forty years the Columbia has been frozen over; but this
was chiefly caused by the accumulation of ice from the upper country. The
grasses grow during the winter months, and wither to hay in the summer
time.
The mineral resources of Oregon have not been investigated. Great
quantities of bituminous coal have however been discovered on Puget’s
Sound,[61] and on the Willamette. Salt springs also abound; and other
fountains highly impregnated with sulphur, soda, iron, &c., are numerous.
Many wild fruits are to be met with in the territory, that would be very
desirable for cultivation in the gardens of the States. Among these
are a very large and delicious strawberry, the service berry, a kind
of whortleberry, and a cranberry growing on bushes four or five feet
in height. The crab apple, choke cherry, and thornberry are common. Of
the wild animals, there are the white tailed, black tailed, jumping and
moose deer; the elk; red and black and grey wolf; the black, brown, and
grisly bear; {249} the mountain sheep; black, white, red and mixed foxes;
beaver, lynxes, martin, otters, minks, muskrats, wolverines, marmot,
ermines, wood-rats, and the small curly-tailed short eared dog, common
among the Chippeways.
Of the feathered tribe, there are the goose, the brant, several kinds
of cranes, the swan, many varieties of the duck, hawks of several
kinds, plovers, white eagles, ravens, crows, vultures, thrush, gulls,
woodpeckers, pheasants, pelicans, partridges, grouse, snowbirds, &c.
In the rivers and lakes are a very superior quality of salmon, brook and
salmon trout, sardines, sturgeon, rock cod, the hair seal, &c.; and in
the bays and inlets along the coast, are the sea otter and an inferior
kind of oyster.
The trade of Oregon is limited entirely to the operations of the British
Hudson Bay Company. A concise account of this association is therefore
deemed apposite in this place.
A charter was granted by Charles II, in 1670, to certain British subjects
associated under the name of “The Hudson’s Bay Company,” in virtue of
which they were allowed the exclusive privilege of establishing {250}
trading factories on the Hudson’s Bay and its tributary rivers. Soon
after the grant, the Company took possession of the territory, and
enjoyed its trade without opposition till 1787; when was organized a
powerful rival under the title of the “North American Fur Company of
Canada.” This company was chiefly composed of Canadian-born subjects—men
whose native energy and thorough acquaintance with the Indian character,
peculiarly qualified them for the dangers and hardships of a fur trader’s
life in the frozen regions of British America. Accordingly we soon find
the North-westers outreaching in enterprise and commercial importance
their less active neighbours of Hudson’s Bay; and the jealousies
naturally arising between parties so situated, led to the most barbarous
battles, and the sacking and burning each others posts. This state of
things in 1821, arrested the attention of Parliament, and an act was
passed consolidating the two companies into one, under the title of “The
Hudson’s Bay Company.”[62]
This association is now, under the operation of their charter, in sole
possession of all that tract of country bounded north by {251} the
northern Arctic Ocean; east by the Davis’ Straits and the Atlantic Ocean;
south and south-westwardly by the northern boundary of the Canadas, and
a line drawn through the centre of Lake Superior; thence north-westwardly
to the Lake of the Wood; thence west on the 49th parallel of north
latitude to the Rocky Mountains, and along those mountains to the 54th
parallel; thence westwardly on that line to a point nine marine leagues
from the Pacific Ocean; and on the west by a line commencing at the last
mentioned point, and running northwardly parallel to the Pacific coast
till it intersects the 141st parallel of longitude west from Greenwich,
England, and thence due north to the Arctic Sea.
They have also leased for twenty years, commencing in March, 1840, all
of Russian America, except the post of Sitka; the lease renewable at the
pleasure of the Hudson’s Bay Company.[63] They are also in possession of
Oregon under treaty stipulation between Britain and the United States.
Thus this powerful company occupy and control more than one-ninth of the
soil of the globe. Its stockholders are British capitalists, resident in
Great Britain. From these are elected a board of managers, who {252} hold
their meetings and transact their business at “The Hudson’s Bay House” in
London. This board buy goods and ship them to their territory, sell the
furs for which they are exchanged, and do all other business connected
with the Company’s transactions, except the execution of their own
orders, the actual business of collecting furs in their territory. This
duty is entrusted to a class of men who are called partners, but who in
fact receive certain portions of the annual net profits of the Company’s
business, as a compensation for their services.
These gentlemen are divided by their employers into different grades.
The first of these is the Governor-General of all the Company’s posts in
North America. He resides at York Factory, on the west shore of Hudson’s
Bay.[64] The second class are chief factors; the third, chief traders;
the fourth, traders. Below these is another class, called clerks. These
are usually younger members of respectable Scottish families. They are
not directly interested in the Company’s profits, but receive an annual
salary of £100, food, suitable clothing, and a body servant, during an
apprenticeship of seven years. At the expiration {253} of this term they
are eligible to the traderships, factorships, &c. that may be vacated
by death or retirement from the service. While waiting for advancement
they are allowed from £80 to £120 per annum. The servants employed about
their posts and in their journeyings are half-breed Iroquois and Canadian
Frenchmen. These they enlist for five years, at wages varying from £68 to
£80 per annum.[65]
An annual Council composed of the Governor-General, chief factors and
chief traders, is held at York Factory. Before this body are brought the
reports of the trade of each district; propositions for new enterprises,
and modifications of old ones; and all these and other matters deemed
important, being acted upon, the proceedings had thereon and the reports
from the several districts are forwarded to the Board of Directors in
London, and subjected to its final order.
This shrewd Company never allow their territory to be overtrapped. If the
annual return from any well trapped district be less in any year than
formerly, they order a less number still to be taken, until the beaver
and other fur-bearing animals have time to increase. The income of the
company {254} is thus rendered uniform, and their business perpetual.
The nature and annual value of the Hudson Bay Company’s business in the
territory which they occupy, may be learned from the following table,
extracted from Bliss’s work on the trade and industry of British America,
in 1831:[66]
Skins. No. each £. _s._ _d._ £. _s._ _d._
Beaver 126,944 ” 1 5 0 158,680 0 0
Muskrat 375,731 ” 0 0 6 9,393 5 6
Lynx 58,010 ” 0 8 0 23,204 0 0
Wolf 5,947 ” 0 8 0 2,378 16 0
Bear 3,850 ” 1 0 0 3,850 0 0
Fox 8,765 ” 0 10 0 4,382 10 0
Mink 9,298 ” 0 2 3 929 16 0
Raccoon 325 ” 0 1 6 24 7 6
Tails 2,290 ” 0 1 0 114 10 0
Wolverine 1,744 ” 0 3 0 261 12 0
Deer 645 ” 0 3 0 96 15 0
Weasel 34 ” 0 0 6 00 16 0
-------- ----------- -----------------
£203,316 9 0
Some idea may be formed of the net profit of this business, from the
facts that the shares of the company’s stock, which originally cost
£100, are at 100 per cent premium, and that the dividends range from ten
per cent upward, and this too while they are creating out of the net
proceeds an immense reserve fund, to be {255} expended in keeping other
persons out of the trade.
In 1805 the Missouri Fur Company established a trading-post on the
headwaters of the Saptin.[67] In 1806 the North-West Fur Company of
Canada established one on Frazer’s Lake, near the northern line of
Oregon.[68] In March, 1811, the American Pacific Fur Company built Fort
Astoria, near the mouth of the Columbia.[69] In July of the same year,
a partner of the North-West Fur Company of Canada descended the great
northern branch of the Columbia to Astoria. This was the first appearance
of the British fur traders in the valleys drained by this river.[70]
On the 16th of October, 1813, (while war was raging between England
and the States) the Pacific Fur Company sold all its establishments in
Oregon to the North-West Fur Company of Canada. On the 1st of December
following, the British sloop of war Raccoon, Captain Black commanding,
entered the Columbia, took formal possession of Astoria, and changed its
name to Fort George.[71] On the 1st of October, 1818, Fort George was
surrendered by the British Government to the Government of the States,
according to a stipulation in the Treaty of Ghent.[72]
{256} By the same treaty, British subjects were granted the same rights
of trade and settlement in Oregon as belonged to the citizens of the
Republic, for the term of ten years; under the condition, that as both
nations claimed Oregon the occupancy thus authorized should in no form
affect the question as to the title to the country. This stipulation was
by treaty of London, August 6, 1827, indefinitely extended; under the
condition that it should cease to be in force twelve months from the date
of a notice of either of the contracting powers to the other, to annul
and abrogate it; provided such notice should not be given till after the
20th of October, 1828.[73] And this is the manner in which the British
Hudson’s Bay Company, after its union with the North-West Fur Company of
Canada, came into Oregon.
They have now in the territory the following trading posts: Fort
Vancouver, on the north bank of the Columbia, ninety miles from the
Ocean, in latitude 45½°, longitude 122° 30′; Fort George, (formerly
Astoria), near the mouth of the same river;[74] Fort Nasqually, on
Puget’s Sound, latitude 47°; Fort Langly, at the outlet of Fraser’s
River, latitude 49° 25′; Fort McLaughlin, on the Millbank Sound, latitude
52°;[75] Fort {257} Simpson, on Dundas Island, latitude 54½°.[76]
Frazer’s Fort, Fort James, McLeod’s Fort, Fort Chilcotin, and Fort
Alexandria, on Frazer’s river and its branches between the 51st and
54½ parallels of latitude;[77] Thompson’s Fort, on Thompson’s River,
a tributary of Frazer’s River, putting into it in latitude 50° and odd
minutes; Kootania Fort, on Flatbow River; Flathead Fort, on Flathead
River; Forts Hall and Boisais, on the Saptin; Forts Colville and
Oakanagan, on the Columbia, above its junction with the Saptin; Fort Nez
Percés or Wallawalla, a few miles below the junction;[78] Fort McKay,
at the mouth of the Umpqua river, latitude 43° 30′, and longitude 124°
west.[79]
They also have two migratory trading and trapping establishments of fifty
or sixty men each. The one traps and trades in Upper California; the
other in the country lying west, south, and east of Fort Hall. They also
have a steam-vessel, heavily armed, which runs along the coast, and among
its bays and inlets, for the twofold purpose of trading with the natives
in places where they have no post, and of outbidding and outselling any
American vessel that attempts to trade in those seas. They likewise have
five sailing vessels, measuring from one hundred to five hundred tons
{258} burthen, and armed with cannon, muskets, cutlasses, &c. These are
employed a part of the year in various kinds of trade about the coast
and the islands of the North Pacific, and the remainder of the time in
bringing goods from London, and bearing back the furs for which they are
exchanged.
One of these ships arrives at Fort Vancouver in the spring of each year,
laden with coarse woollens, cloths, baizes, and blankets; hardware and
cutlery; cotton cloths, calicoes, and cotton handkerchiefs; tea, sugar,
coffee and cocoa; rice, tobacco, soap, beads, guns, powder, lead, rum,
wine, brandy, gin, and playing cards; boots, shoes, and ready-made
clothing, &c.; also, every description of sea stores, canvas, cordage,
paints, oils, chains and chain cables, anchors, &c. Having discharged
these “supplies,” it takes a cargo of lumber to the Sandwich Islands,
or of flour and goods to the Russians at Sitka or Kamskatka; returns in
August; receives the furs collected at Fort Vancouver, and sails again
for England.
The value of peltries annually collected in Oregon, by the Hudson Bay
Comp., is about £140,000 in the London or New York market. The prime
cost of the goods exchanged {259} for them is about £20,000. To this
must be added the per centage of the officers as governors, factors, &c.
the wages and food of about four hundred men, the expense of shipping to
bring supplies of goods and take back the returns of furs, and two years’
interest on the investments. The Company made arrangements in 1839 with
the Russians at Sitka and at other ports, about the sea of Kamskatka,
to supply them with flour and goods at fixed prices. As they are now
opening large farms on the Cowelitz, the Umpqua, and in other parts of
the Territory, for the production of wheat for that market; and as they
can afford to sell goods purchased in England under a contract of fifty
years’ standing, 20 or 30 per cent cheaper than American merchants can,
there seems a certainty that the Hudson’s Bay Company will engross the
entire trade of the North Pacific, as it has that of Oregon.
Soon after the union of the North-West and Hudson’s Bay Companies, the
British Parliament passed an act extending the jurisdiction of the
Canadian courts over the territories occupied by these fur traders,
whether it were “owned” or “claimed by Great Britain.” Under this act,
certain {260} gentlemen of the fur company were appointed justices of the
peace, and empowered to entertain prosecutions for minor offences, arrest
and send to Canada criminals of a higher order, and try, render judgment,
and grant execution in civil suits where the amount in issue should not
exceed £200; and in case of non-payment, to imprison the debtor at their
own forts, or in the jails of Canada.
It is thus shown that the trade, and the civil and criminal jurisdiction
in Oregon are held by British subjects; that American citizens are
deprived of their own commercial rights; that they are liable to be
arrested on their own territory by officers of British courts, tried in
the American domain by British judges, and imprisoned or hung according
to the laws of the British empire, for acts done within the territorial
limits of the Republic.
It has frequently been asked if Oregon will hereafter assume great
importance as a thoroughfare between the States and China? The answer is
as follows:
The Straits de Fuca, and arms of the sea to the eastward of it, furnish
the only good harbours on the Oregon coast. Those in Puget’s Sound offer
every requisite facility {261} for the most extensive commerce. Ships
beat out and into the straits with any winds of the coast, and find
in summer and winter fine anchorage at short intervals on both shores;
and among the islands of the Sound, a safe harbour from the prevailing
storms. From Puget’s Sound eastward, there is a possible route for
a railroad to the navigable waters of the Missouri; flanked with an
abundance of fuel and other necessary materials. Its length would be
about six hundred miles. Whether it would answer the desired end, would
depend very much upon the navigation of the Missouri.[80]
As, however, the principal weight and bulk of cargoes in the Chinese
trade would belong to the homeward voyage, and as the lumber used in
constructing proper boats on the upper Missouri would sell in Saint Louis
for something like the cost of construction, it may perhaps be presumed
that the trade between China and the States could be conducted through
such an overland communication.
The first day of the winter months came with bright skies over the
beautiful valleys of Oregon. Mounts Washington and Jefferson reared their
vast pyramids of ice and {262} snow among the fresh green forests of the
lower hills, and overlooked the Willamette, the lower Columbia, and the
distant sea. The herds of California cattle were lowing on the meadows,
and the flocks of sheep from the downs of England were scampering and
bleating around their shepherds on the plain; and the plane of the
carpenter, the adze of the cooper, the hammer of the tinman, and the
anvil of the blacksmith within the pickets, were all awake when I arose
to breakfast for the last time at Fort Vancouver.
The beauty of the day, and the busy hum of life around me, accorded well
with the feelings of joy with which I made preparations to return to
my family and home. And yet when I met at the table Dr. McLaughlin, Mr.
Douglas, and others with whom I had passed many pleasant hours, and from
whom I had received many kindnesses, a sense of sorrow mingled strongly
with the delight which the occasion naturally inspired. I was to leave
Vancouver for the Sandwich Islands, and see them no more. I confess that
it has seldom been my lot to feel so deeply pained at parting with those
whom I had known so little time. But it became me to hasten {263} my
departure; for the ship had dropped down to the mouth of the river, and
awaited the arrival of Mr. Simpson, one of the company’s clerks,[81] Mr.
Johnson, an American from St. Louis, and myself. While we are making the
lower mouth of the Willamette, the reader will perhaps be amused with the
sketch of life at Fort Vancouver.
Fort Vancouver is, as has been already intimated, the depot at which
are brought the furs collected west of the Rocky Mountains, and from
which they are shipped to England; the place also at which all the goods
for the trade are landed; and from which they are distributed to the
various posts of that territory by vessels, bateaux, or pack animals, as
the various routes permit. It was established by Governor Simpson, in
1824, as the great centre of all commercial operations in Oregon;[82] is
situated in a beautiful plain on the north bank of the Columbia, ninety
miles from the sea, in latitude 45½° north, and in longitude 122° west;
and stands four hundred yards from the water side. The noble river
before it is sixteen hundred and seventy yards wide, and from five to
seven fathoms in depth; the whole surrounding country is covered with
{264} forests of pine, cedar, and fir, &c., interspersed here and there
with small open spots; all overlooked by the vast snowy pyramids of the
President’s Range, thirty-five miles in the east.
The fort itself is an oblong square two hundred and fifty yards in
length, by one hundred and fifty in breadth, enclosed by pickets twenty
feet in height. The area within is divided into two courts, around
which are arranged thirty-five wooden buildings, used as officers’
dwellings, lodging apartment for clerks, storehouses for furs, goods,
and grains; and as workshops for carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers,
tinners, wheelwrights, &c. One building near the rear gate is occupied as
a school-house; and a brick structure as a powder-magazine. The wooden
buildings are constructed in the following manner. Posts are raised at
convenient intervals, with grooves in the facing sides; in these grooves
planks are inserted horizontally; and the walls are complete. Rafters
raised upon plates in the usual way, and covered with boards, form the
roofs.
Six hundred yards below the fort, and on the bank of the river, is a
village of fifty-three wooden houses, generally constructed {265} like
those within the pickets. In these live the Company’s servants. Among
them is a hospital, in which those who become diseased are humanely
treated. At the back, and a little east of the fort, is a barn containing
a mammoth threshing machine; and near this are a number of long sheds,
used for storing grain in the sheaf. And behold the Vancouver farm,
stretching up and down the river (3,000 acres, fenced into beautiful
fields) sprinkled with dairy houses, and herdsmen and shepherds’
cottages! A busy place.
The farmer on horseback at break of day, summons one hundred half-breeds
and Iroquois Indians from their cabins to the fields. Twenty or thirty
ploughs tear open the generous soil; the sowers follow with their seed,
and pressing on them come a dozen harrows to cover it; and thus thirty or
forty acres are planted in a day, till the immense farm is under crop.
The season passes on, teeming with daily industry, until the harvest
waves on all these fields. Then sickle and hoe glisten in tireless
activity to gather in the rich reward of this toil; the food of seven
hundred at this post, and of thousands more at the posts on the deserts
in the east and {266} north. The saw mill, too, is a scene of constant
toil. Thirty or forty Sandwich Islanders are felling the pines and
dragging them to the mill; sets of hands are plying two gangs of saws
by night and day. Three thousand feet of lumber per day; nine hundred
thousand feet per annum; are constantly being shipped to foreign ports.
The grist mill is not idle. It must furnish bread stuff for the posts,
and the Russian market in the north-west. And its deep music is heard
daily and nightly half the year.
We will now enter the fort. The blacksmith is repairing ploughshares,
harrow teeth, chains and mill irons; the tinman is making cups for the
Indians, and camp-kettles, &c.; the wheelwright is making waggons, and
the wood parts of ploughs and harrows; the carpenter is repairing houses
and building new ones; the cooper is making barrels for pickling salmon
and packing furs; the clerks are posting books, and preparing the annual
returns to the board in London; the salesmen are receiving beaver and
dealing out goods. Listen to the voices of those children from the school
house. They are the half-breed offspring of the gentlemen and servants
of {267} the Company, educated at the Company’s expense, preparatory
to their being apprenticed to trades in Canada. They learn the English
language, writing, arithmetic and geography. The gardener, too, is
singing out his honest satisfaction, as he surveys from the northern gate
ten acres of apple trees laden with fruit, his bowers of grapevines, his
beds of vegetables and flowers. The bell rings for dinner; we will now
pay a visit to the “Hall” and its convivialities.
The dining-hall is a spacious room on the second floor, ceiled with pine
above and at the sides. In the southwest corner of it is a large close
stove, giving out sufficient caloric to make it comfortable.
At the end of a table twenty feet in length stands Governor McLaughlin,
directing guests and gentlemen from neighbouring posts to their places;
and chief-traders, traders, the physician, clerks, and the farmer,
slide respectfully to their places, at distances from the Governor
corresponding to the dignity of their rank in the service. Thanks are
given to God, and all are seated. Roast beef and pork, boiled mutton,
baked salmon, boiled ham; beets, carrots, turnips, cabbage and potatoes,
and wheaten bread, are tastefully distributed {268} over the table among
a dinner-set of elegant queen’s ware, burnished with glittering glasses
and decanters of various-coloured Italian wines. Course after course
goes round, and the Governor fills to his guests and friends; and each
gentleman in turn vies with him in diffusing around the board a most
generous allowance of viands, wines, and warm fellow-feeling. The cloth
and wines are removed together, cigars are lighted, and a strolling
smoke about the premises, enlivened by a courteous discussion of some
mooted point of natural history or politics, closes the ceremonies of the
dinner hour at Fort Vancouver. These are some of the incidents of life at
Vancouver.
But we moor on the lower point of Wappatoo Island, to regale ourselves
with food and fire. This is the highest point of it, and is said to be
never overflown. A bold rocky shore, and the water is deep enough to
float the largest vessels, indicate it to be a site for the commercial
mart of the island. But the southern shore of the river, half a mile
below, is past a doubt the most important point for a town site on the
Columbia.[83] It lies at the lower mouth of the Willamette, the natural
outlet of the best agricultural district of {269} Oregon. It is a
hillside of gentle acclivity, covered with pine forests. There is a gorge
in the mountains through which a road from it to the prairies on the
south can easily be constructed. At this place the Hudson’s Bay Company
have erected a house, and occupy it with one of their servants.
Having eaten our cold lunch, we left Wappatoo Island to the dominion of
its wild hogs, and took again to our boat. It was a drizzly, cheerless
day. The clouds ran fast from the south-west, and obscured the sun. The
wind fell in irregular gusts upon the water, and made it difficult to
keep our boat afloat. But we had a sturdy old Sandwich Islander at one
oar, and some four or five able-bodied Indians at others, and despite
winds and waves, slept that night a dozen miles below the Cowelitz.
Thus far below Vancouver, the Columbia was generally more than one
thousand yards wide, girded on either side by mountains rising very
generally, from the water side, two or three thousand feet in height,
and covered with dense forests of pine and fir. These mountains are used
by the Chinooks as burial-places. During the epidemic fever of 1832,
which almost swept this {270} portion of the Columbia valley of its
inhabitants, vast numbers of the dead were placed among them. They were
usually wrapped in skins, placed in the canoes, and hung from the boughs
of trees six or eight feet from the ground. Thousands of these were
seen.[84]
They hung in groups near the water side. One of them had a canoe inverted
over the one containing the dead, and lashed tightly to it. We were often
driven close to the shore by the heavy wind, and always noticed that
these sepulchral canoes were perforated at the bottom. I was informed
that this is always done for the twofold purpose of letting out the water
which the rains may deposit in them, and of preventing their ever being
used again by the living.
The 3rd was a boisterous day. The southerly winds drove in a heavy tide
from the Pacific, and lashed the Columbia into foam; but by keeping
under the windward shore, we made steady progress till sunset, when the
increased expanse of the river indicated that we were about fifteen
miles from the sea. The wind died away, and we pushed on rapidly; but
the darkness was so great that we lost our course, and grounded upon
a sand-bar three miles to the {271} north of Tongue Point.[85] After
considerable trouble, we succeeded in getting off, steered to the
northern shore, and in half an hour were again in deep water. But “the
ship, the ship,” was on every tongue. Was it above or below Tongue Point?
If the latter, we could not reach it that night, for the wind freshened
again every instant, and the waves grew angry and fearful, and dashed
into the boat at every sweep of the paddles.
We were beginning to calculate our prospects of another hour’s breathing
when the shadowy outline of the ship was brought between us and the open
horizon of the mouth of the river, a half mile below us. The oars struck
fast and powerfully now, and the frail boat shot over the whitened waves
for a few minutes, and lay dancing and surging under the lee of the
noble “Vancouver.” A rope was hastily thrown us, and we stood upon her
beautiful deck, manifestly barely saved from a watery grave. For now the
sounding waves broke awfully all around us. Captain Duncan received us
very kindly, and introduced us immediately to the cordial hospitalities
of his cabin. The next morning we dropped down to Astoria, and anchored
one hundred {272} yards from the shore. The captain and passengers
landed about ten o’clock; and as I felt peculiar interest in the spot,
immortalized no less by the genius of Irving than the enterprize of John
Jacob Astor, I spent my time very industriously in exploring it.
The site of this place is three quarters of a mile above the point of
land between the Columbia and Clatsop Bay. It is a hillside, formerly
covered with a very heavy forest. The space which has been cleared
may amount to four acres. It is rendered too wet for cultivation by
numberless springs bursting from the surface. The back ground is still a
forest rising over lofty hills; in the foreground is the Columbia, and
the broken pine hills of the opposite shore. The Pacific opens in the
west.
Astoria has passed away; nothing is left of its buildings but an old
batten cedar door; nothing remaining of its bastions and pickets, but
half a dozen of the latter, tottering among the underbrush. While
scrambling over the grounds, we came upon the trunk of an immense tree,
long since prostrated, which measured between six and seven fathoms in
circumference. No information {273} could be obtained as to the length of
time it had been decaying.
The Hudson’s Bay Company are in possession, and call the post Fort
George. They have erected three log buildings, and occupy them with a
clerk,[86] who acts as a telegraph keeper of events at the mouth of the
river. If a vessel arrives, or is seen laying off and on, information
of the fact is sent to Vancouver, with all the rapidity which can be
extracted from arms and paddles.
This individual also carries on a limited trade with the Chinook and
Clatsop Indians; such is his influence over them, that he bears among
the Company’s gentlemen the very distinguished title of “King of the
Chinooks.” He is a fine, lusty, companionable fellow, and I am disposed
to believe, wears the crown with quite as little injury to his subjects
as to himself.
In the afternoon we bade adieu to Astoria, and dropped down toward
Cape Disappointment.—The channel of the river runs from the fort in
a north-western direction to the point of the Cape, and thence close
under it in a south-westerly course the distance of four miles, where it
crosses the bar. The wind was quite baffling while we {274} were crossing
to the northern side; and we consequently began to anticipate a long
residence in Baker’s Bay.[87] But as we neared the Cape, a delightful
breeze sprang up in the east, filled every sail, and drove the stately
ship through the heavy seas and swells most merrily.
The lead is dipping, and the sailors are chanting each measure as they
take it; we approach the bar; the soundings decrease; every shout grows
more and more awful! the keel of the Vancouver is within fifteen inches
of the bar! Every breath is suspended, and every eye fixed on the leads,
as they are quickly thrown again! They sink; and the chant for five
fathoms enables us to breathe freely. We have passed the bar; Captain
Duncan grasps his passengers by the hand warmly, and congratulates them
at having escaped being lost in those wild waters, where many a noble
ship and brave heart have sunk together and for ever.
Off the mouth of the Columbia—on the deep, long swells of the Pacific
seas. The rolling surges boom along the mountainous shores. Up the vale
one hundred miles the white pyramid of Mount Washington towers above the
clouds, and the green {275} forest of Lower Oregon. That scene I shall
never forget. It was too wild, too unearthly to be described. It was seen
at sunset; and a night of horrid tempest shut in upon this, the author’s
last view of Oregon.
The following abstract of Commander Wilkes’ Report on Oregon came to hand
while this work was in the press, and the author takes great pleasure
in appending it to his work. Mr. Wilkes’ statistics of the Territory,
it will be seen, agree in all essential particulars with those given in
previous pages. There is one point only of any importance that needs
to be named, in regard to which truth requires a protest; and that is
contained in the commander’s concluding remarks. It will be seen on
reference to them, that the agricultural capabilities of Oregon are
placed above those of any part of the world beyond the tropics. This is
a most surprising conclusion; at war with his own account of the several
sections which he visited, and denied by every intelligent man living in
the territory. What! Oregon, in this respect, equal to California, or the
Valley of the Mississippi! This can never be, until Oregon be blessed
with a vast increase of productive soil, and California {276} and our own
unequalled Valley be greatly changed.
_Extracts from the Report of Lieutenant Wilkes to the Secretary of the
Navy, of the examination, by the Exploring Expedition, of the Oregon
Territory._[88]
The Territory embraced under the name of Oregon, extends from latitude
42° north to that of 53° 40′ north, and west of the Rocky Mountains. Its
natural boundaries, were they attended to, would confine it within the
above geographical boundaries.
On the east it has the range of Rocky Mountains along its whole extent;
on the south those of the Klamet range, running on the parallel of 42°
and dividing it from California; on the west the Pacific Ocean; and on
the north the western trend of the Rocky Mountains, and the chain of
lakes near and along the parallels of 54° and 55° north, dividing it
from the British territory. It is remarkable that, within these limits,
all the rivers which flow through the Territory take their rise.
The Territory is divided into three natural belts or sections, viz:
{277} 1st. That between the Pacific Ocean and Cascade Mountains,
(President’s range) or western section;
2nd. That between the Cascade mountains and blue mountain range, or
middle section;
3rd. That between the Blue and Rocky Mountain chains, or eastern section.
And this division will equally apply to the soil, climate, and
productions.
The mountain ranges run, for the most part, in parallel lines with the
coast, and, rising in many places above the snow line (here found to be
6,500 feet), would naturally produce a difference of temperature between
them, and also affect their productions.
Our surveys and explorations were confined, for the most part, to the
two first, claiming more interest from being less known, and more in
accordance with my instructions.
MOUNTAINS.—The Cascade range, or that nearest the coast, runs from the
southern boundary, on a parallel with the sea coast, the whole length of
the territory, north and south, rising, in many places, in high peaks,
from twelve to fourteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, in
regular cones. Their {278} distance from the coast line is from one
hundred to a hundred and fifty miles, and they almost interrupt the
communication between the sections, except where the two great rivers,
the Columbia and Frazer’s, force a passage through them.
There are a few mountain passes, but they are difficult, and only to be
attempted late in the spring and summer.
A small range (the Claset) lies to the northward of the Columbia,
between the coast and the waters of Puget’s Sound, and along the strait
of Juan de Fuca. This has several high peaks, which rise above the snow
line, but, from their proximity to the sea, they are not at all times
covered.[89]
Their general direction is north and south, but there are many spurs or
offsets that cause this portion to be very rugged.
The Blue mountains are irregular in their course, and occasionally
interrupted, but generally tend from north by east to north-east, and
from south to south-west.
In some parts they may be traced as spurs or offsets of the Rocky
Mountains. Near the southern boundary they unite with the Klamet range,
which runs east and west from the rocky mountains.[90]
{279} The Rocky Mountains are too well known to need description. The
different passes will, however, claim attention hereafter. North of 48°
the ranges are nearly parallel and have the rivers flowing between them.
ISLANDS.—Attached to the territory are groups of islands, bordering
its northern coast. Among these are the large islands of Vancouver and
Washington or Queen Charlotte; the former being two hundred and sixty
miles in length, and fifty in width, containing about fifteen thousand
square miles, and the latter a hundred and fifty miles in length and
thirty in breadth, containing four thousand square miles.[91]
Though somewhat broken in surface, their soil is said to be well adapted
to agriculture.
They have many good harbours, and have long been the resort of those
engaged in the fur trade; they enjoy a mild and salubrious climate,
and have an abundance of fine fish frequenting their waters, which are
taken in large quantities by the natives. Coal of good quality is found,
specimens of which I obtained. The Hudson’s Bay Company have made a trial
of it, but, owing to its having been taken from near the surface, it
{280} was not very highly spoken of. Veins of minerals are also said to
exist by those acquainted with these islands.
They both appear to be more densely inhabited than other portions of the
territory. The natives are considered a treacherous race, particularly
those in the vicinity of Johnson’s Straits,[92] and are to be closely
watched when dealing with them.
At the south-east end of Vancouver’s, there is a small archipelago of
islands, through which the canal de Arro runs.[93] They are for the most
part uninhabited, well wooded, and composed of granite and pudding stone,
which appear to be the prevailing rock to the northward of a line east
from the strait of Juan de Fuca. They are generally destitute of fresh
water, have but few anchorages, and strong currents render navigation
among them difficult.
The islands nearer the main land, called on the maps Pitt’s Banks,
or the Prince Royal islands, are of the same character, and are only
occasionally resorted to by the Indians, for the purpose of fishing.[94]
The coast of the mainland, north of the parallel of 49°, is broken up
by numerous inlets called canals, having perpendicular sides, and very
deep water in them, affording {281} no harbours, and but few commercial
inducements to frequent them.
The land is equally cut up by spurs from the Cascade range, which here
intersects the country in all directions, and prevents its adaptation for
agriculture.
Its value is principally in its timber, and it is believed that few if
any countries can compare with it in this respect.
There is no part on this coast where a settlement could be formed between
Frazer’s river, or 49° north, and the northern boundary of 54° 40′ north,
that would be able to supply its own wants.
The Hudson’s Bay Company have posts within this section of the country:
Fort McLaughlin, in Millbank sound, in latitude 52° 10′ north, and Fort
Simpson, in latitude 54° 30′ north, within Dundas island, and at the
entrance of Chatham sound; but they are only posts for the fur trade of
the coast, and are supplied twice a year with provisions, &c.
It is believed that the Company have yet no establishment on any of
the islands; but I understood it was in contemplation to make one
on Vancouver’s island, in the vicinity of Nootka sound, or that of
Clayoquot.[95]
{282} Owing to the dense fogs, the coast is extremely dangerous; and
they render it at all times difficult to approach and navigate it. The
interior of this portion of the territory is traversed by the three
ranges of mountains, with the several rivers which take their rise
in them, and is probably unequalled for its ruggedness, and from all
accounts incapable of anything like cultivation.
The Columbia in its trend to the westward, along the parallel of 48°,
cuts off the central or Blue mountain range, which is not again met with
until on the parallel of 45°. From 45° they trend away to the southward
and westward, until they fall into the Klamet range. This latter portion
is but partially wooded.
RIVERS.—The Columbia claims the first notice. Its northern branch takes
its rise in the Rocky mountains, in latitude 50° north, longitude 116°
west; from thence it pursues a northern route to near McGillivray’s Pass,
in the Rocky mountains.[96] At the boat encampment, the river is three
thousand six hundred feet above the level of the sea (here it receives
two small tributaries, the Canoe river and that from the Committee’s
Punch Bowl), from thence it {283} turns south, having some obstructions
to its safe navigation, and receiving many tributaries in its course to
Colville, among which are the Kootanie, or Flat Bow, and the Flat Head or
Clarke river from the east, and that of Colville from the west.
This great river is bounded thus far on its course by a range of high
mountains, well-wooded, and in places expands into a line of lakes before
it reaches Colville, where it is two thousand and forty-nine feet above
the level of the sea, having a fall of five hundred and fifty feet in two
hundred and twenty miles. To the south of this it trends to the westward,
receiving the Spokan river from the east, which is not navigable, and
takes its rise in the Lake of Cœur d’Alène. Thence it pursues a westerly
course for about sixty miles, receiving several smaller streams, and at
its bend to the south it is joined by the Okanagan, a river that has its
source in a line of lakes, affording canoe and boat navigation for a
considerable extent to the northward.
The Columbia thence passes to the southward until it reaches Wallawalla,
in the latitude of 45° a distance of one hundred and sixty miles,
receiving the Piscous, Y’Akama, and Point de Boise, or Entyatecoom,[97]
from {284} the west, which take their rise in the Cascade range, and
also its great south-eastern branch, the Saptin or Lewis, which has its
source in the Rocky mountains, near our southern boundary, and being
a large quantity of water to increase the volume of the main stream.
The Lewis is not navigable, even for canoes, except in reaches. The
rapids are extensive and of frequent occurrence. It generally passes
between the Rocky mountain spurs and the Blue mountains. It receives
the Koos-koos-ke, Salmon, and several other rivers, from the east
and west (the former from the Rocky mountains, the latter from the
Blue mountains)[98] and, were it navigable, would much facilitate the
intercourse with this part of the country. Its length to its junction
with the Columbia is five hundred and twenty miles.
The Columbia at Wallawalla is one thousand two hundred and eighty-six
feet above the level of the sea, and about three thousand five hundred
wide; it now takes its last turn to the westward, receiving the
Umatilla, Quisnel’s, John Day’s, and de Chute rivers from the south, and
Cathlatate’s from the north,[99] pursuing its rapid course of eighty
miles, previous to passing through the range of Cascade mountains, in
{285} a series of falls and rapids that obstruct its flow, and form
insurmountable barriers to the passage of boats by water during the
floods. These difficulties, however, are overcome by portages.
From thence there is a still water navigation for forty miles, when its
course is again obstructed by rapids.
Thence to the ocean, one hundred and twenty miles, it is navigable for
vessels of twelve feet draught of water at the lowest state of the river,
though obstructed by many sand-bars.
In this part it receives the Willamette from the south, and the Cowelitz
from the north. The former is navigable for small vessels twenty miles,
to the mouth of the Klackamus, three miles below its falls; the latter
cannot be called navigable except for a small part of the year, during
the floods, and then only for canoes and barges.[100]
The width of the Columbia, within twenty miles of its mouth, is much
increased, and it joins the ocean between Cape Disappointment and Point
Adams, forming a sand-pit from each by deposit, and causing a dangerous
bar, which greatly impedes its navigation and entrance.
Frazer’s river next claims attention. It {286} takes its rise in the
Rocky mountain, near the source of Canoe river, taking a north-western
course of eighty miles; it then turns to the southward, receiving the
waters of Stuart’s river, which rises in a chain of lakes near the
northern boundary of the Territory.[101]
It then pursues a southerly course, receiving the waters of the
Chilcotin, Pinkslitsa, and several smaller streams, from the west, and
those of Thompson’s river, Quisnell’s[102] and other streams, from the
east, (these take their rise in lakes, and are navigable in canoes, by
making portages); and under the parallel of 49° it breaks through the
Cascade range in a succession of falls and rapids, and, after a westerly
course of seventy miles it empties itself into the gulf of Georgia, in
the latitude of 49° 07′ north. This latter portion is navigable for
vessels that can pass its bar drawing twelve feet water; its whole length
being three hundred and fifty miles.
The Chikeelis is next in importance. It has three sources among the range
of hills that intersect the country north of the Columbia river. After a
very tortuous course, and receiving some small streams issuing from the
lakes in the high ground near the {287} headquarters of Hood’s canal and
Puget’s Sound, it disembogues in Grey’s harbour;[103] it is not navigable
except for canoes; its current is rapid, and the stream much obstructed.
To the south of the Columbia there are many small streams, three of which
only deserve the name of rivers: the Umpqua, Too-too-tut-na, or Rogues’
river, and the Klamet, which latter empties itself into the ocean south
of the parallel of 42°.[104] None of these form harbours capable of
receiving a vessel of more than eight feet draught of water, and the bars
for most part of the year are impassable from the surf that sets in on
the coast. The character of the great rivers is peculiar—rapid and sunken
much below the level of the country, with perpendicular banks; indeed
they are, as it were, in trenches, it being extremely difficult to get at
the water in many places, owing to the steep basaltic walls; and during
the rise they are in many places confined by dalles, which back the water
some distance, submerging islands and _tracts of low prairie_, giving the
appearance of extensive lakes.
LAKES.—There are in the various sections of the country many lakes. The
Okanagan, Stuart’s, Quisnell’s, and Kamloop’s are the largest in the
northern section.[105]
{288} The Flat Bow, Cœur d’Alène, and Kulluspelm, in the middle section,
and those forming the head-waters of the large rivers in the eastern
section.[106] The country is well watered, and there are but few places
where an abundance of water, either from rivers, springs, or rivulets,
cannot be obtained.
The smaller lakes add much to the picturesque beauty of the country. They
are generally at the head-waters of the smaller streams. The map will
point out more particularly their extent and locality.
HARBOURS.—All the harbours formed by the rivers on the sea-coast are
obstructed by extensive sand-bars, which make them difficult to enter.
The rivers bring down large quantities of sand, which is deposited on
meeting with the ocean, causing a gradual increase of the impediments
already existing at their mouths. None of them can be deemed safe ports
to enter. The entrance to the Columbia is impracticable two-thirds of the
year, and the difficulty of leaving is equally great.
The north sands are rapidly increasing, and extending further to the
southward. In the memory of several of those who have been longest in the
country, Cape Disappointment has been encroached upon some {289} hundred
feet by the sea, and, during my short experience, nearly half an acre of
the middle sands was washed away in a few days. These sands are known to
change every season.
The exploration made of the Clatsop, or South channel, it is believed,
will give more safety to vessels capable of entering the river. The depth
of water on the bar seems not to have changed, though the passage has
become somewhat narrow.
Grey’s harbour will admit of vessels of light draught of water, (ten
feet), but there is but little room in it, on account of the extensive
mud and sand flats. A survey was made of it, to which I refer for
particulars.
This, however, is not the case with the harbours formed within the
straits of Juan de Fuca, of which there are many; and no part of the
world affords finer inland sounds or a greater number of harbours than
can be found here, capable of receiving the largest class of vessels, and
without a danger in them which is not visible. From the rise and fall of
the tides, (eighteen feet), every facility is afforded for the erection
of works for a great maritime nation. For {290} further information, our
extensive surveys of these waters are referred to.
CLIMATE.—That of the western section is mild throughout the year,
neither experiencing the cold of winter nor the heat of summer. By my
experiments, the mean temperature was found to be 54° of Fahrenheit.
The prevailing winds in the summer are from the northward and westward,
and in the winter, from the southward and westward, and south-east,
which are tempestuous. The winter is supposed to last from December to
February; rains usually begin to fall in November, and last till March,
but they are not heavy though frequent.
Snow sometimes falls, but it seldom lies more than three days. The frosts
are early, occurring in the latter part of August; this, however, is
to be accounted for by the proximity of the mountains. A mountain or
easterly wind invariably causes a great fall in the temperature; these
winds are not frequent. During the summer of our operations, I found but
_three days_ noted of easterly winds.
The nights are cold, and affect the vegetation so far, that Indian corn
will not ripen. Fruit-trees blossom early in April {291} at Nisqually and
Vancouver; and at the former place, on the 12th of May, peas were a foot
high, strawberries in full blossom, and salad had already gone to seed.